


just like that

by Mayleah



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: First Meetings, M/M, actor!dan, model!phil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-21
Updated: 2016-03-21
Packaged: 2018-05-28 03:49:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6314194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mayleah/pseuds/Mayleah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Phil is an openly gay model. Dan is a closeted actor. They meet at a party.</p>
            </blockquote>





	just like that

It all starts at a party of a mutual friend. It’s considered a small private party, but really the house is packed and Dan is hiding out in one of the upstairs rooms, sitting on the windowsill and staring down at the guests milling around the porch and garden below.

He already regrets coming in the first place. “A private party,” Jamie had said, when he’d called him a week ago. “Only a few of my closest friends.” And now the house is full of people he doesn’t know, Jamie is too busy getting drunk to care, his social anxiety has kicked in and he can´t even leave, because of the paparazzi lurking in front of the house and how bad would that look if he left only an hour after he came?

He just never feels comfortable with big groups of people he doesn’t know, so he’s stuck up here waiting it out. He can’t even pass time on his phone, his battery is almost dead.

“Mind if I join you?”, a voice asks from behind him and Dan flinches and turns.

There’s a tall guy closing the door behind him and making his way across the room without waiting for his answer. The lights are off, so Dan can’t see who it is.

He shrugs. He doesn’t mind the company, it’s groups he can’t stand.

The guy hops up onto the windowsill, sitting right next to him. Dan turns to look at him and meets striking blue eyes. A gasp. He’d recognize those eyes anywhere.

“Oh, wow”, the guy says. “Oh, I didn’t even… you’re Dan Howell aren’t you? The actor? I just saw your new movie the other day, and it was amazing, I didn’t even know you knew…” he trails off.

“I, uhm, yeah. Thank you.”, Dan says awkwardly. This is not how he ever expected or pictured meeting Phil Lester. The guy he’d been crushing on for months, stalking him on twitter and tumblr at every chance he got. He’s panicking on the inside, can’t seem to think straight, doesn’t know what to respond, so he just blurts it out. “You’re even more beautiful in real life.”

Now it’s Phil’s turn to stutter, whilst Dan just stares at him with wide, mortified eyes. “I… thank you? I mean, thank you. That’s, wow. I didn’t think you knew who I was, I just - “, he trails off, blushing. A pause. “I mean I’m just, you know, a model and not really that, uhm, famous? At least not like, like you? So… I’m sorry, I don’t really know what to say.”

Dan laughs at that. “Yeah, me either.”

His mind is racing. This is Phil Lester in front of him. Phil Lester. And even if he isn’t as famous as, say Cara Delevigne, he still is famous. Not only for his good looks and work as a model, but also for being so openly gay and not caring about what other people think about his sexuality, which makes him a role model and an inspiration to Dan, since that is exactly what he’s been struggling with for years. It is fascinating to Dan, because he is the exact opposite of Phil when it comes to that. He’s too scared, to even come out as gay, too scared to even tell his friends.

He is just not prepared for this situation. Not prepared at all. It never occurred to him that Phil might just be a fan of him, as well, that Phil would know who he is, which is stupid, really, because he rarely ever meets anyone who doesn’t recognize him on the spot, these days.

So Dan desperately tries to calm down, tries to find a way to start a normal conversation, tries to find a way to save this conversation from becoming any more awkward.

“Maybe…”, he starts and hesitates for a second, then starts over again. “Maybe we should, you know, try to get over the fact that we’re… we’re each others fans and… and just talk and get to know each other?”

He watches as Phil swallows hard and then relaxes back on the window seat, getting more comfortable. There’s a shadow over Phil’s face, now, so Dan can’t read his expression, but he takes the shift of position as a good sign.

“Yeah, okay”, Phil finally answers in a soft voice. 

Dan sighs quietly and leans back against the wall, pulls his legs up to his chest, facing Phil. “So, uhm, why are you up here, then?”

Phil shrugs. “Not much of a party-goer, I guess. Some of my friends convinced me to come and now they’re down there dancing, which is definitely one of my least favorite activities, so I decided to go explore the house a bit, before someone drags me away to dance with them and I end up making a complete fool out of myself.” He says with a hint of humor in his voice.

Dan can’t help but snort. “Aren’t models supposed to be graceful?”

“Yeah, but I’m not. I’m actually really clumsy. Just the other day at a shoot I first splashed my glass of water all over the outfit I was supposed to wear and not even ten minutes later I managed to trip on the stairs and tear the pants when I fell.” Phil laughs and shakes his head. “The designer was not happy with me at all. But what about you? Why aren’t you down there having fun, instead of sitting here, by yourself?”

Dan smiles. “I guess I’m not much of a party-goer, either.”

He doesn’t explain why and Phil doesn’t ask and instead they talk about their favorite movies and realize that they both love the same video games and want to go to Japan one day and dislike all physical exercise with a passion and without them realizing it the time flies by.

When Dan checks his phone after a particularly long yawn, he’s surprised to see that it is already three in the morning.

“I should head home”, he tells Phil. “I have to be on set by 10, tomorrow. But it was great to finally get to know you.”

Dan smiles and gets up to stretch his tired muscles. He still can’t really believe that this is really happening. That Phil stayed and talked to him for so long, that they have so many things in common.

“Yeah, you too”, Phil says. “I think I’ll stay up here a bit longer.”

Dan nods at him in goodbye, turns to the door and just when he’s about to leave he hears Phil calling out his name.

When he turns back Phil is curled in on himself and seems nervous all of a sudden.

“Do you…”, he trails off and clears his throat, before smiling somewhat shakily. “Do you maybe want to go out for, like, some coffee sometime? I mean only if you want to, obviously, but I’d really like to and-”

Dan just blinks at him for a moment. “As a date?”

Phil bites his lip. “Yeah”, he says quietly, but his eyes are eager and full of hope.

Dan wants to say yes. He really does, there is this weird tingly feeling in his gut that he hasn’t felt for so long and it makes him so happy. But then, no one had ever known until this point and it worries him that Phil seemed to be able to read him so easily. The familiar feeling of dread comes back and squashes his feelings of happiness, he can’t even think about what would happen if someone finds out.

After a moment Dan realizes he still hasn’t answered, that Phil is fiddling with his hands nervously and looking down at the floor, probably expecting a rejection. Dan knows Phil can’t possibly know how torn up he is on the inside, he is an actor after all and his face a blank mask in moments like this.

He finally opens his mouth to say no, but the words get lost on the way and instead a soft “yes” comes out.

For a second he freaks out, but then he realizes that this, this is Phil who is actually a decent guy and definitely gay and of all the people he knows the guy who would have the least problem with him admitting to be interested in guys and not in girls.

And watching Phil’s whole face light up, his body relaxing is definitely worth the risk.

“Great”, Phil says beaming at him. “I’ll message you on twitter.”

“Okay”, Dan smiles back and leaves the room.

On his way home he feels lighter than he has for a very long time.

**Author's Note:**

> I just found this in the depths of my laptop and decided to post it.  
> But idk, I'm thinking about continuing it? I'm not sure though...
> 
> Still, I hope you like it!^^


End file.
